Jewels sparkle at Sotheby's this summer

1st June 2018 - Swing into the summer season with Sotheby’s: our Fine Jewels and online sales bring together a fabulous array of jewels for every occasion. The sales will offer pieces from across the decades – from antique jewels through 1920s chic to contemporary glamour – including eye-catching accessories for daytime as well as elegant evening jewels. From decorative creations to emblematic pieces by world-famous jewellery icons such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari and JAR, collectors with an eye for stylish design and quality will be spoilt for choice. Sotheby’s galleries in London and Geneva will be filled with colour, as our specialists welcome jewellery lovers to try on pieces for themselves, or simply explore the wonderful selection. Jewels will be on view to the public, in London, from 1-5 June and in Geneva, from 11 – 13 June. ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼FINE JEWELS (London, 6 June)￼￼￼￼￼￼￼Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari feature strongly in the London auction, alongside tiaras, stylish retro jewels from the 1940s and a fine selection of sapphire and emerald jewels. The 379-lot auction is led by a magnificent diamond necklace by Cartier, supporting a 20.30-carat briolette diamond (lot 379, est. £220,000 - 280,000 / $315,000 - 401,000, illustrated right) and a sumptuous sapphire and diamond bracelet made by the Parisian jeweller in the 1930s (lot 377, est. £70,000-90,000 / $101,000 - 129,000). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼Launched in the 1970s, Van Cleef & Arpels “Rose de Noël” jewels have been constantly reinvented, and have become emblematic of the Parisian jeweller. The perfect Summer accessory, a mother-of-pearl and diamond demi- parure, is composed of a pair of earrings and a brooch (lot 293, est. £26,000 - 35,000 / $37,200 - 50,500, pictured p.1). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼Tiaras are glittering again, both on the aisle and on the catwalk. With no fewer than four tiaras in the sale, there is something for every look and every special event: a diamond foliate design from the early 20th century (lot 129, est. £4,200 — 7,000 / £6,100-10,000, pictured left), a late 19th-century piece with palmettes (lot 182, est. £5,000 – 8,500 / $7,200 -12,200), a natural pearl and diamond diadem, late 19th century (lot 38, est. £5,000 -6,000 / $7,200 -8,600) and a tiara from around 1905 with floral and foliate scroll motifs (lot 14, est. £10,000 – 15,000 / $14,400 -21,500). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼The sale is also distinguished by a selection of jewels with royal provenance. Among three exquisite pieces formerly in the collection of HRH King Farouk of Egypt is a diamond brooch, designed as a bird perched on a coral branch, by Van Cleef & Arpels, one of the king’s favourite jewellers (lot 200, est. £700 – 1,500 / $1,050 – 2,150). The sale also includes a diamond parure, formerly in the collection of HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (lot 208, est. £10,000 – 12,000 / $14,000 – 17,200). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼FINE JEWELS (Geneva, 14 June)￼￼￼￼￼￼Highlights of Sotheby’s 14 June auction in Geneva will include bold designs for daytime, as well as diamond essentials for the evening. Timeless and elegant, this ruby and diamond ring is set with a beautiful stone of Burmese origin, the most highly sought-after source for collectors. The 2.41-carat ruby is flanked by brilliant-cut diamonds (lot 814, est. CHF 71,000 – 91,000 / $71,850 – 92,089). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼As if carried on a summer breeze, these delightful brooches designed as dragonflies are composed of ravishing yellow sapphires. Signed Van Cleef & Arpels, these creations are the perfect complement for summer, gliding gracefully from daywear into the evening (lot 826, est. CHF 10,000 – 15,000 / $10,120 – 15,180). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼Cartier’s ‘big cats’ deliver instant chic, whether as part of a smaller jewellery collection or a spectacular one. Emblematic of Cartier and evoking the illustrious brand’s history, these wonderful ‘Panthère’ earrings are set with pear-shaped emerald eyes, the cats’ teeth supporting oval onyx hoops (lot 668, est. CHF 12,000 – 18,000 / $12,144 – 18,215). From storied French Jewellery house Chaumet, these graceful gold earrings set with cultured pearls of different hues are glamorous and elegant, yet modern (lot 533, est. CHF 2,500 – 4,500 / $2,530 – 4,554). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼JEWELS ONLINE (5 - 15 June 2018)￼￼￼￼￼￼From a chic pair of earrings to a stunning gem set bangle, this online-only sale presents the ideal opportunity to perfect your summer look. One of the hallmarks of Paris-based jeweller JAR whose coveted jewels enjoy a cult following is the use of many different metals, both precious and non- precious, as seen in this pair of ear clips, designed as a blackened aluminium curve (est. £3,000 - 5,000). ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼The bold linearity and dynamic geometry that characterised the art deco style can be found in this magnificent 1920s diamond brooch (est. £1,400 – 1,800). ￼The sale also includes a number of fabulous pieces for the dapper gentleman, including a pair of sapphire cufflinks, Cartier, circa 1929 (est. £3,000 — 5,000) and a pair of lapis lazuli cufflinks, Tiffany & Co., designed as turtles (est. £1,500 – 2,000).